A new pan-European group has been set up to reduce carbon emissions of food and foodservice packaging.
The European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA) says it wants to promote food safety, circular solutions and evidence-based policy making.
Leading manufacturers of paper and fibre-based food and foodservice packaging have met in Munich to launch the EPPA.
It is aiming to find concrete solutions to increase recycling and to reduce carbon emissions of food and foodservice packaging, without compromising food safety and human health protection.
The alliance's first president, Antonio D'Amato, has called on European policymakers to commit to evidence-based solutions to achieve shared objectives
"Europe and the wider world face many challenges ranging from climate change and resource scarcity to countering bacterial and viral infections.
A lid for coffee cups made of 100% paper, developed by Czech packaging manufacturer Tridas, can be seen at the company's stand at FachPack 2019 - the trade fair for packaging, processes and technology | Image: Daniel Karmann/DPA/PA Images"Already in the early 20th century for example the paper cup was especially developed to avoid in public transport and in hospitals the hazards and health concerns of shared and re-used glasses and dippers.
"Sustainably sourced and manufactured paper and fibre-based foodservice packaging can deliver solutions that protect the health and safety of consumers, the vitality of our environment and the viability of a circular economy.
"We look forward to working with policymakers to deliver solutions to these common objectives and call upon them to recommit to evidence-based policy making and working in partnership with business."
Paper is a natural and renewable material and it is derived from forests that play an important role in mitigating climate change by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere through reforestation.
Paper and fibre-based food packaging are recyclable and are recycled.
The EPPA says it will promote recycling practices to increase recycling rates even further.
The association is based in The Hague, Netherlands at the offices of Lejeune Association Management.
